Caught in the Act
by Poetgirl925
Summary: Felicity finds a very interesting fan site dedicated to the Arrow that sends her imagination into overdrive. When Oliver discovers what's been making her so flustered, she's surprised by his reaction.


**Caught in the Act**

Felicity sat back in her chair and stretched. It was Friday night, a night when most girls her age were out with boyfriends or at home with boyfriends. Or maybe they were out with husbands or at home with husbands and kids. She, however, was in the basement at Verdant running programs and searches and guiding Oliver through his patrol of the Glades.

Not that she actually wanted a husband. Or kids for that matter. Not now, anyway. She barely had time to eat and go to the bathroom most days. Between her job handling Oliver Queen's business affairs as CEO of Queen Consolidated and her other job aiding him in his nightly vigilante activities, she certainly didn't have time for a husband. A boyfriend might be nice though.

She'd tried dating since Oliver's return eighteen months ago. A couple of guys had shown potential but never stuck around long when faced with her insane schedule. Oliver's near constant presence in her life, whether in person or via text and phone, was also a mood killer. She'd had a string of disastrous dates that had tempted her to swear off men and give women a try. When she'd voiced that rather loudly one night over pizza in the basement, Diggle and Sara had been amused. Oliver, on the other hand, tended to get irritated when she discussed her dates.

Things between her and Oliver had since reached a level of complicated she had no experience with and which usually left her baffled. They'd grown close very quickly after he took over as CEO. They spent most of their waking hours together and at this point he, Sara and Diggle were her best friends. Her only friends, really.

Her relationship with Oliver was complex, and it hadn't stayed strictly in the realm of friendship. The very nature of their lives meant they got most of their support – emotional and otherwise – from each other. Oliver was stoic and closed off with much of the world, but he let his guard down with her, showing a vulnerability and softness that made her heart ache in the best possible way. She knew he needed that, and she made herself available at times when she felt he needed it the most.

Of course, there had been other women in Oliver's life. They were kept on the periphery; brief sexual relationships that she supposed served their purpose. The first was Isabel, and she hadn't forgotten the sting upon seeing the other woman slink confidently out of his hotel room in Russia. She wasn't certain they'd continued their – whatever they called it – after Russia, but she suspected they had.

There were the models and socialites who accompanied him to benefits and galas – an endless string of willowy brunettes offset by the occasional blonde or redhead whose faces sort of melded together after a while. It had bothered her at first, but gradually she'd become desensitized to the tabloid photos and entertainment news blurbs when he was rarely photographed with the same woman for more than a few weeks.

Then six months ago, just after she'd attempted to stop a mugging and been hospitalized for her trouble, he'd started randomly showing up at her apartment on off evenings and weekends. Sometimes he brought food or a movie, and sometimes they just went for a walk and talked. Dinners out in low key, casual settings followed, and it gradually occurred to Felicity that they were dating. They weren't calling it that, but that's certainly what it seemed like. It had been both highly charged and strangely platonic as she waited to see if he would cross the line he'd previously drawn.

He hadn't. A couple of months after it began it ended with no explanations from him as to what was going on in his head. She'd veered from confused to hurt to angry in a matter of days before swinging back to hurt. Because for the first time, she'd had hope, and then that hope was yanked away without warning.

Four months later, they were pretty much back to status quo – so long as status quo included catching him staring at her in increasingly brooding ways. He always shook it off pretty fast, but he wasn't really fooling her that things were back to normal between them. Diggle seemed aware of the change though he chose not to push either of them to talk about it. Even Sara, who'd recently arrived from Gotham, had noticed something different, and her smirking, speculative gaze followed them around the foundry whenever she was there.

A beeping noise interrupted her thoughts, and she turned up the dial on the police frequency she was monitoring. After listening for a moment, she tapped the small button on her earpiece. "Where are you?"

"Near Broad," he replied in the distorted voice that belonged to the Arrow.

She found that voice slightly creepy, but conversely it was a turn on as well. She really needed help.

"There's a burglary in progress on the corner of Sixth and Broad, so you're close. May want to check it out."

He didn't reply but she knew he was already on the move, so she turned her attention back to her monitors while keeping their connection open. Needing a break from staring at the search programs and lines of code, she pulled up the fan site dedicated to the Arrow that she'd begun monitoring after it sprang up a few months ago.

The fan site contained stories from people who'd had encounters with the vigilante as well as reports of sightings and had at first alarmed her, especially when a few blurry photos of Oliver in action began popping up. Even with the mask he now wore, she worried that someone might get a good enough look under the hood to recognize him. With that worry in mind, she began planting a few fan photos of her own, digitally altered to change the line of his jaw. She'd even hooked his nose slightly in a few, pleased when the result was a significantly altered profile.

She'd monitored the site for months now and hadn't really found anything to worry about. Tonight was no different. There was a new witness report, and she giggled when she saw his age described as late thirties. She guessed that mask and scruffy jaw were doing their intended jobs after all.

The site occasionally posted links to other sites containing vigilante news. Felicity checked all the links, and she'd recently set up searches to notify her when anything new was posted online regarding Starling City's resident hero. And he was called that by many now – a hero. Oliver might not buy into it, but she certainly did. She had ever since she'd met him or else she wouldn't have stayed.

Checking the links, she noticed a new header titled 'Arrow Fan Fiction' and her brow wrinkled. She knew what fan fiction was of course, but she hadn't realized anyone was writing it about the Arrow. But then Felicity figured it was to be expected since she'd noticed an increasing amount of fangirling online in response to stories of Oliver's exploits. Apparently archers were in at the moment.

She idly clicked the link and then stared, wide eyed, at a few of the titles: Rooftop Liaisons, Caught in the Act, Red Handed, Arrowed – the list went on, all of them rated for mature readers. Holy crap – it looked like ninety percent porn with plot.

_Don't click_, she commanded herself. _Remember the summer you spent reading Harry Potter fan fiction? You clicked that M rated story about Harry and Luna and it was months before you could watch the last few movies again without feeling embarrassed. So imagine how you'll feel having to see and talk to Oliver EVERY DAY after reading vigilante smut stories. DO NOT CLICK!_

She clicked. It was the one at the top of the list called 'Rooftop Liaisons' and she soon found herself sucked into a surprisingly well written short story featuring the Arrow and his latest rescued damsel, who was so grateful that she didn't mind when he swung her up to a nearby rooftop and… she swallowed hard.

_I felt the rough scrape of the brick against my shoulders as he pressed me back against the wall and leaned into me, his mask and the night shadows hiding his features. I couldn't see his face, but I could feel him – his hands moving down to my hips, angling me towards him. The hard thrust of his…_

"What's wrong?" Oliver's gravelly voice startled her.

Felicity shrieked and jumped. "What?"

"You made a weird noise. Is something wrong?"

Yes, everything was wrong now because all she could think about was Oliver in his Arrow gear pushing her back against a wall and… "Yes. I mean no. I mean I was checking my searches and I think maybe I've been staring at the screens too long. And aren't you supposed to be tying up the bad guys right about now?"

"Cops got there first," he said. "I'm headed back."

"Okay." She muted her com link and propped her elbows on the desk before burying her face in her hands.

"If you're going to read Arrow smut, you should probably do it at home."

Felicity shrieked again and jerked backwards violently, one hand to her chest.

Sara stood behind her, arms crossed and looking at her with amused curiosity. "I wouldn't have taken you for that kind of reading."

Heart racing wildly, Felicity took a deep breath and tried to calm down. "Between you and Oliver, I am going to have a heart attack before my next birthday. How many times have I told you not to do that?"

"To be fair, I said something when I came in but you were very engrossed in your story," Sara teased her. "Then Ollie called you on the com link. Does he know he has fan sites and groupies now?"

Felicity laughed. "Yeah. His ego needs that boost. And I only check these links to make sure no one's getting too close or posting photos that have identifiable details. This is the first time I've seen the link to the stories, so that part must be new."

"You should check out 'Gotham Nights,' Sara told her. "Half the stories have me running around in fishnets and stilettos when I chase down the bad guys and have my way with them. And I've been linked to every other known vigilante, Ollie included. Apparently Arrow and Canary have quite the torrid fling going on."

"Seriously?" Felicity made a mental note to widen her search to Sara and Canary. "I would have thought Gotham would be more about the Batman."

Sara shrugged. "Guess no one likes the ears. You finished? I thought we might grab a drink before you head home."

"Sure." She could definitely use a drink now. She had a feeling sleep would be a long time coming that night.

They both turned as they heard Oliver coming in.

"You might want to close out that screen," Sara murmured, watching Oliver set his bow and quiver on the table.

"Oh my God!" Felicity spun so quickly that her chair slid sideways, and she grabbed the table edge to right herself before clicking furiously until all evidence of her smut reading was gone from the screen. When she turned back around, Oliver was watching her.

Felicity popped up out of her chair, unable to control the blush spreading over her face and neck. Because Oliver was still dressed as the Arrow, though he'd unzipped the vest to reveal the thin, black Kevlar he wore underneath. Her mouth went dry as he continued to strip off his Arrow uniform.

Looking at her again, his brows drew together. "Are you alright?"

No, definitely not. "Sara and I are going for a drink. I have to…" she gestured upstairs, "go." Well that was articulate. "Get… uh… yeah." Was she wringing her hands? "It's nothing."

Sara grinned when Felicity took off up the stairs, Oliver's bewildered gaze following her.

"What the hell was that about?"

"You heard her. She has to go." When Oliver raised a brow at her, she shook her head. "You know, I really thought things were changing between you and Felicity the last time I was here. But somehow you managed to get all the way back to square one since then. That takes talent."

"Sara." Oliver shook his head, the warning in his tone clear.

Sara held up her hands. "Not my business, obviously. But she's too good to be sitting around waiting for you to get your shit together."

He didn't say anything and Sara sighed, pushing away from the table. "I'll see you later."

She grabbed Felicity's bag so they wouldn't have to come back downstairs and made her way up to the club. The music was loud, and she found Felicity already sitting at the bar. "You forgot something."

Felicity snatched the bag. "Thanks. I didn't have the nerve to go back down there."

Ordering the first round, Sara turned to see Felicity staring at her. "It's the hair, huh?" She'd taken to wearing a long, dark wig when in Starling City in order to keep her identity under wraps.

"It's weird because I wouldn't have thought that a wig would change your appearance so much. It does though." Felicity took a long sip of her drink. "I can't look at him."

"Well I guess you have until tomorrow to get over that. Unless you have the weekend off?"

The blonde snorted and pushed her glasses up. "Yeah sure. The last time I had an entire weekend off was so long ago I can't even remember it."

"So tell Ollie you need to have a life – get out, have fun, date." Sara was beginning to suspect Oliver kept Felicity busy intentionally so that she wouldn't have time for things like fun and dating. She remembered Felicity's last boyfriend – Eric? The poor guy hadn't been able to hold up under the pressure of dating Felicity when Oliver was constantly popping up in all areas of her life.

"That never seems to work out for me," Felicity remarked with a sigh.

"Well, at least buy a vibrator."

Felicity choked and began coughing. "I do not need… that."

"You will if you keep reading those stories. Trust me." Sara winked, smiling again when Felicity's blush seemed to spread straight down to her toes. Teasing the blonde genius was the most fun she'd had in weeks. Gotham was damned dreary, but it suited her on most days.

She spotted Oliver moving through the crowd nearby. Thea was on vacation with her boyfriend which left Oliver the task of overseeing Verdant for the next week. It didn't seem like there were enough hours in the day to do everything he was doing, but he managed it somehow. Sara figured that was in large part due to the woman currently doodling on her napkin.

She looked closer to see hearts and arrows and rolled her eyes. "Okay, time to go." She took the napkin from Felicity and crumpled it in her fist before tossing it into the garbage can behind the bar.

She saw Oliver turn his head to watch them leave. He never took his eyes off Felicity but he didn't approach her. Sara shook her head, wondering exactly what it would take to break through the wall Ollie had thrown up in the last few months. She'd hate to see him lose the best thing he had in his life.

**A/N: This was born of me being home sick – it's a two-parter, and the second part is rated M. It will be up probably tomorrow (I get nervous when I edit smut because it's not the easiest thing for me to write.) No beta so let me know if you see any big errors here. Thanks to smoakandarrow on Tumblr for suggesting the title – she also suggested 'Red Handed' so I made that one of the fan fic titles on the website Felicity was looking at.**

**There will also be two prequels in this universe because once I fleshed out the story, I found I wanted to tell the backstory. 'Sick Days' will tell the story of Felicity landing in the hospital after attempting to stop a mugging (which is what started Oliver showing up at her apartment.) That will be followed by 'Five Times Oliver Took Felicity on a Date (and the One Time It Was Real)' in which I'll cover five of their dates over those two months mentioned in this story. The last date will fall into the time period after this story. Hopefully that's clear :)**


End file.
